It’s Time to Revisit Social Security’s Early and Delayed Claiming Formulas

A study by the Center for Retirement Research at Boston College found that the delayed credit is still about right, with the exception of the highest earners, who tend to outlive actuarial averages and reap the highest extra benefit. Conversely, the group hurt the most are low-income filers, who tend to claim earlier and effectively are overcharged for doing so. Moreover, the increase in FRA from 65 to 67, enacted in the reforms of 1983, effectively increased the penalty for earlier files. Claimers with an FRA of 67 will receive five years of early filing reductions rather than three.

It’s Time to Revisit Social Security’s Early and Delayed Claiming Formulas — https://www.morningstar.com/articles/1029357/its-time-to-revisit-social-securitys-early-and-delayed-claiming-formulas

The first sentence from the above paragraph caught my eye. So I went on to the BC website.

People can claim Social Security from 62 to 70, with adjustments to keep lifetime benefits the same, on average, regardless of claiming age. The question is whether the adjustments, set decades ago, are still correct, given the decline in interest rates and increase in life expectancy. For the average worker, the analysis shows that the reduction for claiming early is currently too large while the increase for claiming late is about right.

Higher earners – who live longer and claim later – get a really good deal under the current system.

Are Social Security’s Actuarial Adjustments Still Correct? — https://crr.bc.edu/briefs/are-social-securitys-actuarial-adjustments-still-correct/

People with more money tend to live longer. People who defer claiming social security benefits until beyond FRA (full retirement age) are generally healthier, expect to live longer, and are financially secure enough to delay claiming. If the SSA decides to enhance benefits for early retirees it would be a good thing for a lot of people, especially those who have been severely impacted by the pandemic.

Reevaluating Retirement Plans due to Covid-19

COVID-19 Has Many Americans Reevaluating Retirement Plans

Roughly two in five Americans (38%) say the COVID-19 pandemic has impacted their retirement plans by having to retire later than planned, now not being able to retire at all or being forced into retirement. Plus, 41% are currently reevaluating their retirement plans to assess the financial impact of COVID-19. These are among the findings revealed by a new COVID-19 Tax Survey conducted online in May 2020 by The Harris Poll on behalf of The Nationwide Retirement Institute® among U.S. adults 18+.  Heightened uncertainty and complexity are driving a need for greater financial protection. Roughly half of Americans agree that the COVID-19 pandemic has made them recognize the need for annuities to protect their investments against market risk (47%) and to protect their retirement income (48%). More than half of all U.S. adults (57%) and investors (60%) also say the pandemic has made them recognize the need for life insurance.

More survey results can be found in the full article at the link above.

The heightened uncertainty and complexity have definitely affected my own retirement plans.

The massive number of people out of work have definitely affected my own thoughts and feelings about work.

Retirement = work.

As long as my health holds up and as long as there’s someone out there willing to pay me to do what I do I plan on working.

The Demographic Apocalypse

The ING International Survey Savings 2019, the eighth in an annual series, surveyed 14,695 people in Europe, the US, and Australia, and discovered the majority worry about not having enough money in retirement. The findings show that many people are “sleepwalking” into a financial crisis with little or no savings toward their golden years.

Zero Hedge

The ING International Survey Savings 2019 highlights the difficulties people are facing across Europe, the USA and Australia when it comes to meeting long-term savings goals, such as funding retirement. The survey, the eighth in a savings series repeated annually, canvasses the views of nearly 15,000 people in 15 countries, reveals that six in ten (61%) of non-retirees across Europe worry they won’t have enough money to live on when they retire. This is no surprise when you realise that high shares (27%) have no savings at all. Among this group, two-thirds (66%) tell us they simply don’t earn enough to put anything aside. And many who do have savings aren’t massively better off: 42% in Europe say they have no more than three months’ take-home pay put aside. Results from the USA and Australia are similar.

You can download the full study at this link.

Happy Reading!

The Financial Risk of Living a Long Time

The Financial Risk of Living a Long Time

People nearing the end of their careers can potentially lose 5% to 10% of their retirement wealth, or the equivalent of 2 to 5 years’ labor, by failing to annuitize their savings or annuitizing too early, according to an estimate by Alessandro Previtero of Ivey Business School in Canada. By providing a guaranteed income for life, an annuity is essentially an insurance policy against outliving one’s retirement savings. In a study, Previtero found that when stocks are rising, people are less likely to purchase annuities offered by their employers.

 

This excerpt came through my RSS reader this morning.  As an insurance guy, naturally I was interested.  When I clicked on the link to take me to the original Harvard Business Review blog article I got a 404.  So I went to Google and found the article linked below.

CEG_AnnuitiesDeserveAttention

No, I will not speculate on the reasons why HBR took their post down.  Read the article and let your imagination roam.